Summary
The Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General is launching an audit of the federal government’s payment system due to concerns about access granted to Elon Musk’s DOGE team.
Treasury officials gave conflicting accounts of DOGE’s access, raising fears of improper data use.
The audit will also review security controls and transactions related to Musk’s claims of fraudulent payments.
The audit, expected to conclude in August, may issue interim reports if critical issues emerge.
You’re thinking about the results of the audit, the final report, which a court might use to apply consequences after the fact. That’ll be good documentation to have, but it isn’t the real benefit.
The real benefit is getting inside the organization, getting in the way of whatever they’re currently doing, making them explain what they’re doing while they’re doing it, keeping tabs on everybody, making them feel watched. The benefit is slowing them down right now, for as long as the audit goes on. If they obstruct the audit, I hope the auditors drag their feet and make everything take longer, and extend the audit for another year or two. Question everything, be the most annoying looking-over-your-shoulder assholes they can be.
Everybody is missing half the facts here. The audit is of the Treasury system, not DOGE.